Sex with men is fun! It’s a way to play, be free and enjoy pleasure throughout your whole life. It’s also a way to meet others. Each new lover is the opportunity to learn and share intimacy. Sex is also a way to show your desire, your joy and the love you have for others.

Having sexual relations with one or more sex partners in a year-time ‧requires you to take care of yourself. Here are some recommandations :)

At exæquo, we offer: 

• To get tested for all STIs (VIH, syphilis, hépatites A, B et C, gonorrhea and chlamydia). This test will be 100% safe for relationships that are more than 6 weeks old (for hiv, syphilis and hepatitis) or 2 weeks old (gonorrhea and chlamydia). As of November 2023, in the absence of symptoms, gonorrhea and chlamydia screening is no longer recommended in Belgium for cisgender men who have relations exclusively with men. If a partner notifies you of an infection and/or you also have vaginal relations (with cisgender women, transgender men,...), then routine gonorrhea/chlamydia screening is still recommended.

• To get vaccines, get treatments, start PrEP with our doctors and volunteers trained for testing. 

> These services are only available in Brussels and can be free in most situations. You can find more informations about this service and its price and the end of this page. 

• A rapid test for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis C for free, anonymously and with immediate result. These tests will have a definite results for all the sex you had more than 3 months ago. More information on places and dates in Wallonia and Brussels at the end of the page.

> Get an appointment: 02 736 28 61, WhatsApp (Bruxelles), WhatsApp (Wallonie) ‧or info@exaequo.be!

• To get an HIV self-test that you can do on your own at home. We’re available if you want to call us before, during and after the test. 

> Order a self-test here for free (in French)!

• We can recommend gay-friendly and HIV-friendly health professionals or family planning centres.  

> Send a message at ttbm@exaequo.be. Tell us where you live and what kind of health professionals you’re looking for!

• Come and meet us for HIV/syphilis/hepatitis C rapid tests in Wallonia and Brussels, and for tests for all STIs in Brussels.

> Click on your city in the following list to see when we’ll be there and call us for an appointment!

How does our Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) testing offer work in Brussels?

If you are a man who has sex with other men and you have symptoms, have had unprotected sex, have been notified by a partner of an exposure to STIs, etc. you can contact us to make an appointment. 

You will then be seen by a team consisting of a doctor and a volunteer activist trained in reception and the preliminary screening interview. 

Depending on your situation, you can be screened for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis A, B and C by blood test. Since November 2023, in line with the recommendations, we no longer systematically offer screening for gonorrhea and chlamydia. This will be offered on a case-by-case basis. If it is carried out, in addition to the blood test, there will be a urine sample, a throat smear and an anal self-smear to be performed on your own in the toilet. 

The results can be sent to you a few days later by email, telephone, whatsapp or in person, depending on your preferences and availability. 

In case of a positive HIV result, you can be redirected and accompanied to the HIV department of a hospital we work with. 
In case of a positive result for another STI, you can receive a prescription by email and/or on your Belgian identity card if you have one and then pick up the medicine in a pharmacy. If you need an injection, you will be invited to do it at exaequo or at another centre of your choice. 

What do you have to pay for when you come for an STI test in exaequo?

- In most cases, nothing at all. Our doctors ask to be paid directly by the "mutuelle" insurance company (this process is ‧called "tiers payants") and there is no extra charge (no "ticket modérateur"). The laboratory that does the analyses offers the same thing. 

As we ask the "mutuelle" insurance company to cover the fees, our screenings are not anonymous. However, confidentiality is very important in exaequo, the results are not put on the internet and are not transmitted to other GPs. The laboratory does not send any documents/invoices home. 

- If you do not have any health insurance in Belgium or any private insurance that covers the costs of screening, then we and the laboratory will accept to see you for free. The price should not be a barrier to your access to testing. 

- If you have a private insurance that covers your medical expenses, then we will ask you to pay the medical consultation (30€) and you will receive an invoice from the laboratory by email a few weeks later (more or less 90€). If your insurance does not cover these costs, we can cancel the bills. 

If you don't know exactly what your situation is, if you don't understand the Belgian system well, if you have insurance in another European country and would like to use your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), you can contact us for reimbursement > info@exaequo.be or WhatsApp.

At the moment we have between 30 and 50 appointments each month, which is very few. If we are full we can recommend other testing centres to you. If you are already being treated for PrEP at a centre and you need an intermediate test, we invite you to contact your PrEP centre, which will probably be able to see you. 

If you are looking for an anonymous and free testing centre, you can go to the centre MiA, or CHU de Liège. 

DON'T HESITATE TO CONTACT US AT 02 736 28 61, WHATSAPP OR BY EMAIL AT INFO@EXAEQUO.BE.